I am writing the responses in this post as the â€œTrinaryâ€ itself, instead of one particular member unless noted.

This is going to be an ongoing new feature of the RPG section in which the Trinary is allowed a platform to address any current concerns in the RPG community. We will also field any and all (valid) questions from the members in the style of a press briefing. It will be open for a week at the end of every month, during which time we will attempt to give clear answers to all questions submitted during that period. (Since this first message is coming â€œlateâ€, we will be taking questions until May 4)

The quoted text in this message is from the anonymous survey conducted for MechaTalk thanks to lalahsghost.

First, this monthâ€™s statement:

RPG section. I didn't joined a single RPG yet because of the so called "RPG Trinary", they make all their characters as main characters and prefer having MSV Aces as Non-Player Characters (NPCs) under their command than helping new player to get familiarized with the characters and the scenario.

A little history:

â€œZeta Gundam: Tales From the Frontlines - The AEUGâ€ was conceived on the old EZboard, and the first sign-up thread was posted there. Three of the four pilot slots on the AEUG flagship were taken by Red and Fritz (Red had two characters, the shipâ€™s CO and XO), and Red was set to be GM and leader of the AEUG by creating the Gelaâ€™s captain, Carl Abbey. Fritzâ€™ only initial character was his namesake, Fritz Ashlyn. The fourth pilot was Allan Grave, played by AceOfSpades1.

Cardi Doorl joined the RPG on the Titan side as Capt. Paul Ramsay of the Andropov and the pilot Hu Cheung. At that point wing zero alpha was the leader of the Titans, joining as Capt. Andrewson Trent and Stukov. General Schatten was playing Wolf Ritter (and eventually the whole Ritter clan).

This was all well before any of us were moderators.

The RPG started on March 11, 2006, and on March 15 Red had to step down as GM due to midterms; he handed over GM-ship, the AEUG and his characters to Fritz. On March 16 Cardi added another character, Leandro Alvarez, and converted his original two characters to named NPCs.

Since then, there has been a stream of member bannings (forum-wide, not just from the section) and withdrawal, character abandonment, and story development that has ballooned the number of characters under the Trinaryâ€™s control (mainly through adoption in Cardiâ€™s case). Cardi ended up the leader of the Titans. We were made moderators over June 4 and 5, 2006.

The rise of Fritz Ashlyn into what can be considered part of the AEUG spotlight is the result of the death and transfer of a great deal of the AEUGâ€™s initial roster of pilots, as well as his continued existence as a story element since the first â€œepisodeâ€ of the RPG. Fritz Ashlyn started the RPG as a subordinate to two other pilots on the fleetâ€™s flagship. Cardiâ€™s control of the Titans came about after he adopted the Trent character as well as a good portion of the Titansâ€™ â€œmain castâ€ of pilots. This was not engineered. It isnâ€™t a conspiracy.

As for the presence of MSV characters, all I can say without ruining anything is â€œpatience,â€. Their presence and relation to the plot will be made clear. Furthermore, we defy anyone to provide evidence of us not going out of our way to familiarize and set up a new member who cooperated and met the gameâ€™s requirements. The enormous â€œrecap and rosterâ€ post in the second sign-up thread should be evidence enough that we go out of our way to welcome and familiarize anyone who wanted to join the RPG. We even went so far as accelerating the end of the first story arc of the RPG so that new members wouldnâ€™t have to wait as long.

And, just to reiterate for anyone who doesnâ€™t understand, all characters named as NPCs on the roster are available to be played by anyone on their side (within reason). Trinary members often step in and portray regularly-appearing NPCs as a way to establish them and advance the story.

From what I've observed, they put new character isolated on ships and it makes really hard to integrate them on the game, and rules of MAHQ doesn't seem to apply there since all the time they post copyrighted mp3 (trought putfile and e-snips) and such things.

The Putfile music issue is going to be ignored here because it has been resolved.

With the move to the second arc, there was a major influx of new players. Both sides took heavy losses during the first arc, and both sides procured new ships. These new PCs came in as what the military would call â€œreplacementsâ€; they arrived on a specific basis to fill in gaps in the pilot and crew roster. What everyone must understand is that once an important NPC is established and is tied to the plot, we canâ€™t simply boot them off a ship to make room for a new, unknown PC.

Besides the existing roster gaps, the Trinary went out of its way to make sure as many PCs were together to foster interaction as possible, even giving some completely new characters command roles of entire MS teams on new ships. There were multiple roster revisions and shufflings before the second arc began to make sure as much isolation was avoided as possible.

Much work would be needed to improve the section since they have a long running campaing and might thing that "Is good that way it is" but I think they should help to integrated new characters to the campaign, use NPCs only to fill gaps and trade them for player characters once new players singup and respect the rules of the main board.

Addressing the issue of NPC fill-ins, that is what has been done for the entire course of the RPG. Weâ€™ve had a healthy group of faceless NPCs (some are given names and a little characterization) who have always been available as spots for new players. The issue that is being misinterpreted here is that an actual character (like Michiko or Clute) who happens to be an NPC canâ€™t simply be morphed suddenly into someone else so a new PC can take their specific place. As the RPG moves on, we can't suddenly say that a random, average NPC pilot suddenly became a Mary-Sue Zeonic OYW vet. That would simply be a major inconvenience not only to us, but the other players as well.

Also, if you feel there is unfair treatment going on, or you have a question, or you think you canâ€™t trust us, please speak up (here if not in a discussion thread). We will make all efforts to answer your questions and relieve any fears you have. Do you think we could be more efficient? If you have a suggestion, let it fly.

As one last point, we would like to clear up something else we think may be leading to misunderstandings and needless worrying. You are all familiar with how RPGs work here; you know the mechanics of the game itself and how people post. What we think a lot of people donâ€™t understand is the structure of the writing that goes on behind the scenes. This is the first RPG in what weâ€™re calling a new wave of MAHQ roleplaying. There is a cohesive story track weâ€™re following.

Things donâ€™t appear and happen at random, and we donâ€™t travel needlessly for no reason like what occurred in almost every RPG on the EZboard. There is a plot and a structure. The members are responsible for filling in all the imagery and interaction that holds the skeleton of the story together. If you think something going on is strange, itâ€™s meant to be strange. We donâ€™t introduce characters that will have zero impact on the story. The entire timeline and basic elastic plot for this game has been written since the middle of 2006, and the Trinary is continuously going over plot points and story ideas for what is going on and what is about to happen in the game.

Now we would like to turn the thread over to the members to ask questions. All questions asked by May 4 will be answered this â€œmonthâ€. The next official post will be on May 24.

As more evidence to the fact that there is a list of who created who (and who adopted who) in the RPG History Listings of the RPG Archive that is up-to-date.

As for isolation, from what I've seen, the Mods havegone out of their way to RP minor NPCs for the very reason of giving characters a chance for RPing when there was no alternative to placing them aboard a ship by themselves. (Reminds me of an issue of EGM where 3 different people accused them of being basised for Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. A no-win situation brought about from a lack of attention to detail...)

But I do have a legitemate question:

Since the Tales from the Frontlines RPG: The AEUG is still running strong (having outlived the 5 pervious RPGs, all of whom where AU), are there any place of allowing another UC RPG to run along side it (as in 'renting out' the never used 'Non-Gundam' section or devising some other way to avoid confusion), or are the Trinary going to hold fast to the 2 RPG limit?

Psyden wrote:Since the Tales from the Frontlines RPG: The AEUG is still running strong (having outlived the 5 pervious RPGs, all of whom where AU), are there any place of allowing another UC RPG to run along side it (as in 'renting out' the never used 'Non-Gundam' section or devising some other way to avoid confusion), or are the Trinary going to hold fast to the 2 RPG limit?

We have decided to stick to the 2 RPG limit. The primary reason being that just recently a member (m6l99) was prohibited from attempting to start a 3rd RPG that would go against the current 2 game limit. Using that as precedent, we can't change our mind just because the new idea is set in the UC. We also hold the opinion that it might negatively affect participation in the current 2 RPGs.

Also, if we were to open up 'General' to a new RPG, we would still have to go through the normal process of submission and voting, so there's no promise your idea (or the UC at all) would be chosen.

I have a few questions/suggestions and random things that might be helpful to everyone who posts in the rpg section...

What has to happen to an RPG before its declared, dead and put into the RPG graveyard? Will a decision like that just be made but the bossmen? Or will it be up to discussion with the remaining players and an attempt to salvage it be made?

If this story is already written out...does that mean most things are predecided? Is it possible for us as characters to change the outcome of the plot in a drastic way? Or are we just being lead by our noses?

Is it allright to bypass the swear filter to some extent...for instance instead of getting "ZOINKS Him!!" "Kiss my ZOINKS" We can type in "**** Him" or "Kiss my ***"

I do agree with things being a little rough for being new to this story,it is for me to say i don't feel alienated would be a lie. Regarding the whole thing with the NPCs should be somewhere someone can see easilly such as the rules. People could've also been spread out a little bit more...I don't think the whole rpg would of crumbled if a PC was taken from the Gela or the Chuikov would of been placed on the New Yark instead of just one.

I'd be totally willing to create and maintain a roster/log for the TFTF RPG similar to the one, i did for the G Gundam game...

Gee willy...this is alot longer then i initially planned....i'm not trying to be a pain....I am quite happy with this game it's very well run and well written and some of the people who RP here are extremely talented!! It's really intimidating/engrossing, it really makes me think things out, and it is truly a pleasure to be here. I'd just like to see this place get even better...I want people to come to the RP section and just get taken under by a massive earth shattering pleasure coma.

What has to happen to an RPG before its declared, dead and put into the RPG graveyard? Will a decision like that just be made but the bossmen? Or will it be up to discussion with the remaining players and an attempt to salvage it be made?

Itâ€™s a combination of things. If the game has run itâ€™s natural course and thereâ€™s no story left to tell (the end of a war, plot resolution, etc.), if posting has slowed to a standstill and there is obvious lack of interest, and if the Trinary decides the game is either over with or unsalvageable, then it will be declared dead and moved. There will normally be a period before it is moved where further discussion about it is allowed and encouraged, and if anyone has issue with it being closed they can try to save the RPG (unless itâ€™s obviously over, of course).

If this story is already written out...does that mean most things are pre-decided? Is it possible for us as characters to change the outcome of the plot in a drastic way? Or are we just being lead by our noses?

Most major plot points have been plotted out and expanded upon for our use so we know what we should be steering the story towards. Beyond that, it is entirely possible for the membership to change the plot. If a PC manages to kill a character we had planned to use in a future event, or have a major effect on the story, then the effected areas will have to be re-written as we go to fit the membersâ€™ vision of the story. To give examples, Gambitâ€™s actions as Nick Teâ€™Litha have made several changes to the story (especially internally on the Titansâ€™ side), and the capture of Ed Rigney was an event that was not planned (or planned for) that was enthusiastically adopted into the plot line.

Is it alright to bypass the swear filter to some extent...for instance instead of getting "ZOINKS Him!!" "Kiss my ZOINKS" We can type in "**** Him" or "Kiss my ***"

As we understand it, as long as you donâ€™t deliberately circumvent the swear filter, self-censorship with asterisks is fine. To clarify, no using l337speak to construct curse words.

I'd be totally willing to create and maintain a roster/log for the TFTF RPG similar to the one, i did for the G Gundam game...

Funny you should mention that. Would you, or anyone else reading this, know how to start a wiki, perchance? For free and with an easy interface, preferably. â€œFreeâ€ being mandatory, actually.

Alright. The Trinary is really making ourselves look good. The second "State of the RPG" post comes a day late, and it should, in fact, be the third. Let's pretend that didn't happen. Officially, there was no May. Don't question it!

State of the RPG for June, 2007

This month hasn't given us many problems... other than the fact that a giant hunk of the section was erroneously deleted. Oops! Don't blame us, that sort of thing isn't in our power!

The good news is that glorious leader Chris and glorious admin Dale are working on restoring the data for the Trinary so we can repost it here. Fear not, the posts are not permanently lost. The >1000 posts that were deleted will be restored!

Now we would like to turn the thread over to the members to ask questions. All questions asked by June 30 will be answered this â€œmonthâ€. The next official post will be on July 25.

I have a question about the "known NPC's" for example Bate, Kou, Grunwald.. since most of their fates are unknown in the Gundam History can I assume that they can be killed or are they untouchable if you go against them in battle.

If you think you can take them on, then they're completely vulnerable to any member; they're not here to take up spots permanently. If you want to pick a fight with an ace, then go right ahead. They're just as mortal as any of the PCs.

I'll try to keep this concise. Heretic joined the Zeta RPG in September â€˜06 as James Heretic; he posted a few times and then abandoned his character without informing anyone. Eventually James was phased out of the game when we left Earth. At roughly the same time, when General Schatten was banned from the board, Heretic agreed to take over several of his important characters (Commodore Ritter being the main one), which he promptly abandoned as well. Before all of that, he was involved in the hit-calling problem that, in part, killed the SEED RPG (granted, it was one of many problems with many players with that game). The Trinary put Heretic onto our list of members to watch, because repeat offenders end up on probation or banned (like AceOfSpades1).

We didn't consider this bad enough on it's own to put him on probation, so when the Wing RPG was voted in we allowed him to be the game's GM. During his own RPG he continued his habit of disappearing completely for long stretches, leaving the rest of us in a rut until he would come back long enough to bump the story a little further along. Those absences became such a problem that the Trinary was actually on the verge of closing the Wing RPG one of the times he managed to come back before the decision was made. This became one of the major factors that led to our decision to let the Wing game die after the entire thing was deleted; we didn't want the members to get strung along for another three months (for nothing, in the end) the way he had been.

The RPG that replaced it is the currently running G Gundam RPG, which he was lead GM of (with Cardi acting as â€œassistantâ€ GM). So far, he has done little for the RPG other than let Cardi keep it on life support. He has delayed the starts of matches, he once again began to neglect his multiple, story-integral characters, and he disappeared again, this time with the excuse of moving. He started his move on May 19, and hasnâ€™t returned to either RPG since then.

The Trinary let him re-join Zeta, and he did so as 'Norman Applegate', a character he has not posted as since April 24. He hasnâ€™t posted in his own RPG since May 8.

I know this decision may not be popular, and it may not make things easy, but we canâ€™t let someone get away with the same thing that anyone else would be on probation for, especially if theyâ€™re expected to be a leader. This isnâ€™t really intended as a punishment for Heretic, itâ€™s intended as preventative measures for the section.

After some deliberation, we have decided that Wedge14 will be the new GM of the G Gundam RPG, with Cardi continuing to perform the â€˜co-GMâ€™ role he has held. The Big Zabowski will keep control of Norman as he has since Heretic handed him over. If anyone has questions (and I suspect you do), then you can ask them here during the current â€œanswer weekâ€. Iâ€™m extending the Q&A period for June to end on July 3.

I want it known that if the trinary had asked I would have willingly done all this. With all the frustration of moving out of a city to a really small town, trying to get a job and long E-Mail battles with my parents trying to get my computer back, not having to worry about the RPGs is a blessing. Since I donâ€™t expect things to get any easier soon, I know that I will not be able to participate as is expected of me. Life happens and Real life has to come first. Iâ€™m sorry if this disrupts things for you all, but thatâ€™s the way it has to be.

I wish Wedge14 good luck as a GM and Iâ€™ll try my best to play my remaining two characters and follow along with the new story to see how it all turns out.

I'm honored to take the reigns from Heretic. I'm a little sad that things had to come to this. But I assure everyone there isn't any bad blood or anything. I'd actually like to thank him for putting this game together, and getting us all here. And I hope we see him around here as much as we can!

Theres going to be some changes to the game. The Neo Holland and Neo Liechtenstein characters are going to be dropped and completely retconned out of the whole continuity. In their place I'm going to allow two new entries. That will keep the records of the ones they are replacing.(both had acquired one loss each) I'd like to see some fresh new faces. So i'm going to say no to people who're currently playing this game to entering another combatant.
That is going to mess up with the schedule for round 2.

Match 5 of round 2 will no longer be Neo Holland Versus Neo France. It will now be Neo Somalia Versus Neo France.

We will leave the window of oppurtunity for people to create new characters untill we reach match 11. The two new entrants will fight in that event. If two people do not sign up. Either we will drop 2 entrants from the competition or someone can adopt one of Heretic's old entrants.

In regards to the Corsair State Versus Neo Egypt Match I would just like to get that match started. Shori has been waiting quite some time, and quite patiently I might add. So we owe it to him to that going for him. And get it over with.

If something comes up like that again, i am sure we can manipulate the fight schedule and move people around to make the schedule more flexible for everyone.

Lastly...I'd just like to say I am kinda touched I was selected for this. I just wanna have fun just like everyone else does. If you have a problem with the way things are...a comment a suggestion or just wanna talk to me. Just go ahead and do it. Cause we all gotta remember...this is OUR game. We all own our little part of it. So everyone's opinions are welcome!

I feel I must apologize for the long delay in writing the Neo America V. Neo Australia post, but even though the Strike threat has pasted (and only just this week), the store I am working at is going through a MAJOR remodel and my schedule is all over the place. Fortunately, I have July 6-9 off, so expect the post to fall between those days. I have the out-line finished, just not the time to write the post proper.

Just want everyone to know that we haven't forgotten about getting the RPG back ups posted somewhere. We're busy right now with some new sections for MAHQ, but after that more time will be available.

"What did catch my eye, however, was a podcast named Gundamn!. At first I thought it was a podcast about firearms and [rednecks] discussing their collection, but after looking at the episode titles I was sold." - Xhavalor

July was fairly quiet, with no major problems to speak of. The missing posts in the section are due to be made available to the Trinary so they can be restored thanks to Chris and Dale. Otherwise, the only current issue is the absence of Cardi. Once he is back online, we can proceed at full speed in the Zeta RPG and continue on to the next encounter.

Now we would like to turn the thread over to the members to ask questions. All questions asked by July 31 will be answered this "month". The next official post will be on August 25.

August was another quiet month for the section, more or less. Yes, we are still waiting on the restoration of the deleted posts. Other than that ongoing wait, there aren't any major problems. That's good news for us, and we're glad to trade drama and problems for a long wait.

Now we would like to turn the thread over to the members to ask questions. All questions asked by August 31 will be answered this "month". The next official post will be on September 24.